Collecting old bingo cards, bottles and silver pennies

Tuesday

Aug 27, 2013 at 12:01 AMAug 28, 2013 at 2:11 PM

My love of bingo has led me to collect memorabilia and odd stories about the game. I recall my grandmother telling a story about a fire during the mid-1960s in East Stroudsburg that destroyed bingo cards. I'm looking for the date of that fire.

My love of bingo has led me to collect memorabilia and odd stories about the game. I recall my grandmother telling a story about a fire during the mid-1960s in East Stroudsburg that destroyed bingo cards. I'm looking for the date of that fire.
M.N., New London, Conn.

The ill-fated cards were used during an evening of bingo on Feb. 28, 1966, at the George N. Kemp Post 346 American Legion building. After the game, the cards along with other equipment were stored in a closet on the second floor of the building on Washington Street, East Stroudsburg.
About an hour later, the fire alarm sounded and firefighters responded. Before the flames could be extinguished, the closet was gutted and the bingo cards and equipment belonging to St. Matthew's Roman Catholic Church were destroyed.
Smoke and water damage to the building was extensive. Five pieces of fire equipment and 39 firefighters were at the scene.

While visiting Stroudsburg recently, I purchased an old bottle embossed with Wm. V. Kautz at a yard sale, but I'm unable to find any information about the company. Can you help?
B.F., Washington Crossing
Although a chronological record of Kautz Bottling Works is elusive, it is known that Amos Roth and Augustus Houck of Snydersville purchased the company at Eighth and Monroe streets, Stroudsburg, in 1903 from the estate of the late William V. Kautz.
Neither of the two new owners appears to have a background in bottling. Houck had been a farmer, and Roth was employed in various capacities for a number of years at the Snydersville Hotel.
A description of a Kautz bottle, dated around 1890 and offered for sale on worthpoint.com in 2007, states that the plant was in operation for at least a decade if not more. The beer or soda bottle was described as 9 inches in height with a "blob top."

I found a 1943 silver penny. Is it real? I'm really excited.
D.D., Marshalls Creek
Because of the shortage of copper caused by World War II in 1943, pennies were struck in steel. Your newly found penny is most likely one of these steel war pennies, also called steelies.
Steel pennies are somewhat rare, but still can be found. But if your penny was copper, you would have cause to be excited.
Copper pennies were unintentionally made in 1943 and extremely rare.
"Experts think they were struck by accident when copper alloy was left over in the press hopper when production began on the new steel pennies," according to infoplease.com.